What's involved?

A quick fire circle game suitable for large groups and useful as a fun warm up activity and movement break. It promotes attention skills and social participation. Once taught children can organise themselves into games at break-times.

What's required?

You need about 10 or more players to make the game work but no equipment is required.

How to play:

The players form a circle.

One player is chosen to be the leader and stands in the middle of the circle.

The leader holds his hands together and then randomly points them towards one of the players in the circle. (It should be obvious to all the players who has been pointed at.)

The leader immediately shouts:

'Splat!'

The player who was 'splatted' (pointed at) must now duck down quickly.

The players on either side must immediately duel by pointing with their hands towards each other and shouting 'Splat!'

The first child to point and say 'Splat!' wins the duel and stays in the game.

The other is out unless the player in the middle fails to duck out of the way quickly enough. In this case the player in the middle is out.

Children who are out sit down (or stand back.)

The game continues until there are just two players.

They both come to the centre of the circle. Now they have a back to back duel taking three paces forward before turning to ‘Splat’ each other.

The winner becomes the new leader.

Notes:

As more and more of the players in the circle get out it gets more confusing to work out who is now the player (still in the game) on your right or left. For example, towards the end of the game the next player still in the game on your right could actually be standing next to or near the player on your left. This adds to the fun of the game. There is no penalty for splatting the wrong person but it is the first person that splats the correct player wins their duel.

Adjudication. Deciding who wins a duel can often be difficult and the other players in the circle should decide who won or call it a 'draw'. When it is a draw no-one is out. Adult help with adjudication may be required with more immature groups. However by managing this for themselves the players are gaining important social skills: negotiation, honesty and dealing with disappointment etc.